This is my personal blog. I was Branch Secretary of Lambeth UNISON from 1992 to 2017 and a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of UNISON, the public service union (www.unison.org.uk) from 2003 to 2017.
I am Chair of Brighton Pavilion Constituency Labour Party and of the Sussex Labour Representation Committee (LRC).
Neither the Labour Party nor UNISON is responsible for the contents of this personal blog. (Nor is my employer!)

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Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Ten weeks to get ready for the next steps in the fight with this Government

Here is the window of my workplace proudly showing off the only slightly bizarre "footwear oriented" publicity for the TUC demonstration on 20 October which was launched at UNISON Conference (we're considering a health and safety disclaimer since we can't really mean that people should march in high heels or flip flops!)

With just a little over ten weeks until the demonstration which we need to be a massive show of opposition to a Government which has done more harm to our people in the last two years than we could have imagined, it's time to start mobilising members seriously to achieve the turnout that we need.

Activists were in our office today collecting leaflets (and membership forms) for office walkabouts. We'll also need street stalls and leaflet drops in our communities as well as our workplaces. It's easy to be cynical (and if you've read this blog before that'll be part of why you've come back) but it's critical that we maximise attendance at this demonstration.

There are all sorts of debates to be had about how we go forward, beyond 20 October to take national action against the Government - and whether we can hope to mobilise members again as we did on 30 November last year. There are also valid debates about the political strategy for the movement. These debates need to take place.

However, the first and most important thing to do next is to ensure the largest possible attendance on the 20 October demonstration. Keep up with developments at http://www.unison.org.uk/20102012/ and pledge to join the demonstraton at http://afuturethatworks.org/pledge-to-join-us/.